real interview stories, told over a cup of tea ♡
Interview Experiences
3935 interview stories from candidates at 857 companies: how each round went, what was asked and how it ended. Every company page links to practice questions in the same style.
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3935 results
- 75-Minute Pair Programming Screen on a Robot Movement ProblemShopify · Machine Learning Engineer · Technical Screen · Dec 2025In progress
Recruiter The recruiter emailed asking if I was interested in the Shopify MLE position. We then set up a call — about ten-some minutes on video — and scheduled the actual interview (pair programming, 75 minutes) for ten days out. The recruiter's email included a guidance doc, but it didn't have much substantive content. It said I could use AI, and it linked the company's tech blog, which was most…
- A 45-Minute Technical Screen on Synchronizers and PPAApple · Technical Screen · Dec 2025
45 minutes total. It started with introducing the work on my resume — I talked about an IP block I designed myself. While I was talking he kept nodding, and I thought the first round was going pretty smoothly. Then he started asking some technical questions. Since I mentioned different synchronizers partway through, he asked why you'd use different synchronizers (2-stage FF, edge detect, async FI…
- A Broad Second Round Covering Probability, Stats, ML, and LeetCodePoint72 · Quantitative Research · Intern · Technical Screen · Dec 2025
Recruitment process: five rounds of interviews in total. This is the second round. Behavioral Self-introduction How I taught myself finance knowledge Technical Probability Question 1: The classic three-roll dice expectation problem. You can roll a die up to three times, and after each roll you can choose to stop. Your final payoff is the value of the last roll. Compute the expected value of the g…
- A Coding-Heavy OA on the Cloud Storage ProblemCoinbase · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Dec 2025
I just finished Coinbase's OA. Overall I felt the problems weren't that hard, but there was a huge amount of code to write. If you hadn't prepared for it ahead of time, I don't think a normal person could finish the whole thing on first sight. This kind of test is honestly ridiculous, damn it — it really feels like they're just hunting for code monkeys. The problem was the cloud_storage one that'…
- A Data-Platform System Design Screen With No FeedbackDiscord · Software Engineer · Senior+ · Technical Screen · Dec 2025
If you get an interview with this team, first of all, congratulations, you're in for some bad luck. During the interview, the interviewer won't give you any feedback, and communication is pretty rough — I'd guess the interviewer himself hadn't really read the problem carefully. By the middle of the interview I had already implemented about half of a solution, but the interviewer eventually decide…
- A Five-Part OA Simulating a Connection Load BalancerStripe · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Dec 2025
This was a connection management simulation question for a Jupyter Server — essentially implementing a simplified connection router / load balancer that manages connection state across multiple backend target servers based on different request types (CONNECT, DISCONNECT, SHUTDOWN, etc.). It's not a big system design question. It's more of a small-scale system design / stateful system simulation —…
- A Fuzzy User-Matching Screen, Then a Three-Part VOStripe · Software Engineer · Onsite · Dec 2025
I recently interviewed at Stripe. The overall process was clear, so I wanted to share it for anyone else prepping for Stripe. I felt like I did so-so on the second round. Phone Screen (Coding, 45min) You're given a bunch of user data, where each row represents a user record. Each record has: id name email company Each field has its own similarity weight, for example: name weight = 0.2 email weigh…
- A Graph Question in a Frontend HackerRank ScreenUber · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Dec 2025
At first it was the usual back-and-forth introductions. The code was written on HackerRank, and the moment I heard the question I broke out in a sweat — since when does a frontend interview ask a graph question? Simply put, it was a flight ticket problem. Input: number of cities, [[departure city number, arrival city number, ticket price]...], and the maximum number of stops. Output: the lowest t…
- A Level 64 Offer That Still Fell ShortMicrosoft · Software Engineer · Senior+ · Onsite · Dec 2025Offer
I've always just been a lurker here, never able to see anything useful. Since I'm interviewing right now, I figured I'd post this — hopefully it helps others too. Background: I work at Amazon (aka "the banana factory"), YOE 6+. WA. Let me give the result up front: I applied as senior and got a level 64 offer. After two rounds of negotiation, total comp went from 26 to 30 (215 base + 54/2 sign-on…
- A Timeout-Detection Question, Not the Usual Shortest-Path ProblemApplied Intuition · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Dec 2025
Looking at the recent interview reports on 1point3acres, they're mostly the shortest-path problem — I specifically prepared for that for a long time, but it turned out not to be that. It was an uncommon, old question. There were several event objects (sim id, type, timestamp) representing various events for a simulation's state. Type is one of start, ping, end. start means the sim starts, ping me…
- A Wordle-Style Coding Screen Nobody Warns You AboutPatreon · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Dec 2025
Not a question from the forum, which surprised me — I'd seen people on the forum say the phone screen here is basically coding rounds, IC/manager rounds, rate limiter, shopping cart, that sort of thing. The problem was roughly a guessing-word game: given a guess word and a target word, mark the status of each position. green: the two chars at this index are the same yellow: the two chars at this…
- AKUNA CAPITAL Software Engineer interview, HackerRank OAAKUNA CAPITAL · Software Engineer · Online Assessment · Dec 2025
My process started with a HackerRank OA focused on implementing business requirements rather than practicing classic algorithms. My version had two questions. One focused on strings and felt fairly direct. The other relied more on object-oriented concepts, which I found harder because I hadn’t practiced that style enough. Even though the difficulty was described as not necessarily algorithmically…
- BairesDev Frontend Engineer interview with lengthy automated assessmentsBairesDev · Frontend Engineer · Online Assessment · Dec 2025No response
The process relied heavily on assessments, and it felt endless. Even after I completed the suggested tests successfully, there was no guarantee that I would reach the role. I found the funnel hard to trust, especially because the test materials and knowledge seemed outdated compared with the latest framework versions. Much of the process was machine evaluated. It started with a long block of prob…
- Brex Account Executive interview: timed prospecting and discovery role-playBrex · Account Executive · HR Screen · Dec 2025Rejected
I went through a recruiter screen first, followed by conversations with managers and a panel-style component. The process felt fairly standard for sales, with a clear sequence from one step to the next. The recruiting team communicated well, and the overall tone was professional. The people I spoke with were generally nice. The more intense part was the live sales work. I completed a timed, scena…
- Circle Internet Financial Frontend Engineer interview with CodeSignal, system design, and GoCircle Internet Financial · Frontend Engineer · Technical Screen · Dec 2025
I went through an assessment-heavy process with several technical stages, but I didn't move forward. One path involved a small take-home assessment with two questions. I didn't proceed after that initial stage. Another included a CodeSignal test, followed by a roughly 30-minute recruiter call covering Circle, culture, and crypto-related knowledge. That path continued with a system-design discussi…
- Datavant Software Engineer interview with debugging and system design roundsDatavant · Software Engineer · HR Screen · Dec 2025Rejected
The process started when a recruiter reached out on LinkedIn. I sent over my CV, completed an HR screening call, and then moved into debugging. The technical work focused on debugging code and getting the tests to pass. I got most of them through, but I ran out of time while trying to fix one of the last issues. I was surprised to receive an invitation to the next round after that time squeeze. T…
- Datavant Software Engineer interview: debugging, coding, and system designDatavant · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Dec 2025No response
The process started with recruiter outreach. After a quick call about logistics and my background, I was invited to a coding round that focused entirely on debugging. We worked with a pre-existing file, and I passed that round, which moved me to an interview with the hiring manager. The manager was easy-going and spent real time answering my questions. They seemed distracted at the beginning beca…
- Diff-in-Diff, Switchback Design, and a Causal Inference Deep DiveUber · Data Scientist · Senior+ · Technical Screen · Dec 2025
Sharing an interview. I'm guessing I failed. Uber Staff Scientist. Coding + experimentation The first part was data manipulation. I was given a pandas DataFrame and had to convert a column's type from string to int. There was a missing value that needed to be imputed using a simple average. After those two steps, I had to compute a diff-in-diff. The experimentation part was pretty relaxed. He ask…
- Down-Leveled from L5 to L4 After a Skipped System Design QuestionMeta · Software Engineer · Senior+ · Other · Dec 2025Offer
Back in 2023 I pushed myself hard, so hard that I ignored my health completely, and I still got rejected. It stung a lot more than I thought it would. I had just finished my master's and Meta was the company I wanted most, so when it fell through I let it eat at me for far too long. It even cost me other interviews, and not because I lacked the skills. My head was simply stuck on the one offer I…
- Drw Holdings Quantitative Analyst seven-question math test and technical roundDrw Holdings · Quantitative Analyst · Other · Dec 2025Rejected
I remember the process feeling intense from the start. It began with a timed math test containing seven questions. The limit was about 45 minutes, and the topics included linear algebra, probability, optimization, and brain-teaser-style problems. The questions were difficult and required quick work, so I felt that small mistakes could compound fast. After the initial stage, I had a Zoom technical…
- Duolingo Software Engineer interview with disputed coding feedbackDuolingo · Software Engineer · Other · Dec 2025Rejected
The recruiter communication set a strange tone from the beginning. When I was eventually rejected, the message said that my code was nonfunctional even though it had passed the tests. That mismatch bothered me because the feedback felt more dismissive than a simple statement that I wasn't a match. The overall atmosphere, from the recruiter to the interviewers, was unpleasant. It felt as though pe…
- Duolingo Software Engineer practical tasks, pair programming, and onsiteDuolingo · Software Engineer · HR Screen · Dec 2025
The recruiter stage felt unusually clear and human. After a short screening, I was given a set of tasks related to the work itself, and I had to submit both my answers and explanations for the choices I made. They wanted to understand the reasoning behind the work, not only whether something worked. From there, the process used practical formats that resembled engineering work. I had a team-membe…
- E5 Product Role, Frontend-Focused Design Round and a Five-Week Team MatchMeta · Software Engineer · Senior+ · Onsite · Dec 2025Offer
Hi everyone, I went through the loop for an E5 Software Engineer, Product role in the Bay Area. Below is a rundown of the timeline, how I studied, and what came up. It started when a recruiter contacted me about the position. I put the phone screen roughly a month out so there was room to study. It consisted of two LeetCode problems in 40 minutes, which is the usual Meta setup. I learned I had pa…
- Eight Interviews, Light Coding and Conversational System DesignClio · Engineering Manager · Senior+ · Other · Dec 2025Offer
I applied for a remote Senior Engineering Manager job. The role sat one level above other managers, so it was a strategic position that still required technical depth, comparable to a director. All told I did eight interviews, grouped into four rounds. Two of the eight were technical: one on coding and one on system design. My coding prep was easy-level LeetCode-style problems, and it turned out…
- Five Questions on Product Sense, Experiment Design, and SQLInstacart · Data Scientist · Senior+ · Technical Screen · Dec 2025
Overall the experience was good. The interviewer was very nice, and communication was smooth. The 45 minutes covered product sense, experiment design, experiment analysis, and SQL. Question 1 How to investigate a metric decline. Pretty standard question. Seasonality, product changes, user segments, external competition — as long as it's reasonable, that's fine. Question 2 If you want to launch a…
- Four Rounds Including a Bar Raiser Case and a Project PresentationInstacart · Data Scientist · Onsite · Dec 2025
Four rounds. Round 1 — Problem Solving (30 min): We partnered with a local grocery store to add a smart cart. Users could use the smart cart to find this store's own products and prices, and at the same time see products and prices from other stores on the Instacart app through the same cart. They asked whether this is a good idea, what the hypothesis would be, which metrics to look at, and how t…
- Four Rounds Including a Virtual Credit Card Case StudyCapital One · Machine Learning Engineer · Onsite · Dec 2025In progress
There aren't many MLE interview reports for Capital One on the forum, so I'm writing up my own experience to give everyone a reference point. I'll try to be as specific as possible, hoping it helps other people interviewing for MLE later. There were 4 interviews total, each scheduled for 1 hour, as follows: Set A technical. The interviewer was pretty easygoing, and overall it went smoothly and pl…
- Glean (CA) Software Engineer interview where timing decided the outcomeGlean (CA) · Software Engineer · Dec 2025Rejected
The interview process felt smooth from start to finish. The recruiter was responsive, and communication during the interviews went well. I stayed engaged and clear while working through the questions. The interview fell in the difficult range. The main issue was timing: I couldn't solve the question within the allotted time. The interview wasn't chaotic or confusing. It felt more like a performan…
- Glean (CA) Software Engineer interview with six rounds and a DSA setbackGlean (CA) · Software Engineer · Technical Screen · Dec 2025
I went through six rounds in total: one hiring manager round, two technical rounds, and three cultural rounds. By the later stages, it was clear they were evaluating more than coding, with a strong focus on overall fit. The technical work was difficult for me. I didn’t get past the first technical DSA round because I got tripped up by library differences and mixed up my C++ and Java knowledge whi…
- HackerRank OA, Then a Grilling AA Round and a Data Center DesignMicrosoft · Software Engineer · Onsite · Dec 2025Offer
The process started with a HackerRank online assessment containing 2 questions. Both were on the harder side, but I got through them, and a couple of days later I heard I was moving on to the later rounds. Coding: I practiced the most frequently asked Microsoft coding questions, and most of what came up was either straight from that list or a close variation. System Design: I worked through the s…
